Stop Thief!
by Ascaisil
Summary: Two shot story about Nami stealing something from Paulie and him chasing her to get it back. Thanks to Pikinanou for the idea! :D Rated for language.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: **Okay this is only a two shot, (I swear!!) I tried to make it short, I really did! But I'm pretty incapable so...The reason it's so long though is 'cause I didn't want to skip over Nami's mad ninja skills. :P

This story is for Pikinanou, who left me a review with a freaking awesome idea in it. Thank you so much!!! :D

Oh and I don't own One Piece...I always forget that! xD

* * *

There was a crowd of people surrounding the Strawhat's navigator, who was entertaining them with stories of previous adventures. Robin and Chopper were closest to her, one listening with amusement and one with amazement. There were also some of the Frankies, including Kiwi and Mozu, but the larger part of the crowd was filled with Galley-La shipwrights and carpenters, including both Lulu and Tyselin, who wanted to hear her stories of course but for the most part they were just smitten and wanting to be near her.

The only shipwright _not_ caught by her charms, that he would admit, was the head foreman Paulie…who was starting to get ticked. It had been a half hour or more of her distracting his workers and his patience had finally run out.

Muttering angrily under his breath the blond stalked over to the group…who quickly began to disappear as they saw his approach. Even the Frankies found themselves with the urge to be elsewhere, and by the time he had reached the troublesome woman the crowd had been cut down to her nakama, and his nakama…

Letting out a puff of cigar smoke he stopped behind Lulu and Tyselin and waited for them to notice him. Nami, apparently not caring about _how_ large her crowd of listeners was, had not stopped in her story telling and the blond caught the tail end of what she was saying.

"So in the end I ended up with nearly _three hundred_ _thousand_ and they were completely convinced that it had all fallen overboard!"

Her four listeners broke into laughter. "Wooohooo!! You must be really good!!" Tyselin shouted.

"Wow Nami! And they didn't even suspect you?" Chopper asked her with wide eyed amazement. Robin and Lulu had both laughed but neither of them spoke up…They were the first to notice the pissed off foreman.

"Nope!" The copper haired pirate was saying with a grin. "I got away totally free and they didn't even notice…" She winked down at her nakama, sticking her tongue out cutely as she did so.

Eye twitching in annoyance Paulie finally spoke. "What the hell are you doing distracting everyone?!"

Nami looked at him in surprise. "Eh? Where'd you come from?" Then, ignoring her own question, she continued. "What 'everyone'?" She asked innocently, shrugging her shoulders as she looked around. "I don't see anyone being distracted, do you?"

Her dark haired nakama smiled at them cheerfully. "I'm sorry Paulie-san, but I think you can spare Lulu-san and Tyselin-san for a little while…" The two women shared a look.

Paulie lost his temper, again, and began shouting at her. "You know damn well what I'm talking about!!" Lulu put a restraining hand on his nakama's shoulder as the blond lifted one fist to shake in Nami's direction. "I already made them go back to work but you shouldn't be here in the first place!!"

The navigator looked down at him from her place on the table where all could see her, a cool look on her face. "Iceburg-san said we could stay." She pointed out.

"He said you could stay in the building not the shipyards!!"

Looking worried Tyselin jumped in, trying to help her. "It's really okay Paulie!" He shouted. "Nami-san was just telling us some of her stories about being a thief before she met Strawhat!!"

Thrown off his tirade in surprise he looked back up at her. "Thief? You?"

Nami stepped down from the table top onto the bench, (she didn't step down completely because then he would have towered over her.) crossing her arms and giving him an indifferent look. "Not that it's any of _your_ business but yes…I did used to be a thief who stole from pirates."

Chopper was looking between the two worriedly…_everyone_ knew that when they got started in a fight it was loud, angry, and tended to last a _long_ time. "S-She's really good too!" He spoke up, feeling he should defend his nakama. "Nami could steal anything!"

The copper haired woman smiled down at the little reindeer, ignoring Paulie. "Not anything Chopper…just _about_ anything…" Then she winked at him again.

The blond, not liking to be ignored, snorted. "I don't believe it." He snapped, making her look back up at him angrily. "And why is that exactly? It's pretty stupid to make judgments when you've never even seen how good I am."

Still standing on the bench she was just about at eye level with the shipwright, who was smirking at her. "You're too clumsy." His voice was smug too. "There's no way a clumsy girl like you could have been a thief."

Nami's eyes widened and then narrowed in anger. Her jaw clenched and she took in a deep breath, trying to control her rage. _'Clumsy?!_ _Who the hell is clumsy?!'_ The petite woman opened her mouth to deliver a scalding retort when an absolutely brilliant idea came to her. Instead of shouting at him the copper haired woman gave him a sly look from under her lashes. "Would you care to make a bet on that?" She said silkily.

Well obviously it was a trap…but if he backed out she would win, and he'd be _damned_ before he let Nami win without a fight. He crossed his own arms across his chest, his smirk still in place. "And what would that be?"

The two other foremen looked back and forth between the shipwright and the navigator with worried looks. Robin's face still held a private smile of amusement, and Chopper was cheering his nakama on…quietly.

"I bet you…" She paused, pretending to think about it. "500 beri that I can steal something from you without you knowing it, and be able to keep it from you until the end of the day…Say…until six tonight?"

Paulie blinked. She couldn't be serious! There was absolutely _no way_ she could pull that off. He was _way_ to careful! His smirk increased. Easy money. "Deal." The carpenter said, holding out one hand.

The thief smiled back at him sweetly, and took his offered hand. They shook on it and before dropping his hand the lovely woman pulled him closer.

"I'm going to make you regret this Paulie…" She purred.

He snickered. "Not a chance."

Nami smiled back at him again and let his hand go. She jumped off the bench and began sauntering away. "Are you guys coming?" She asked her nakama who had both turned away from the fight.

Eh? He had expected her to try right away…

Almost like she could hear his thoughts she turned around and looked back at him. "Oh don't worry…" She said cheerfully as her nakama passed her and continued towards the building. "I'll definitely win…but what fun is it if you know it's coming?" She bat her lashes at him and then continued with her companions.

How stupid…he was going to _know_ it was coming no matter when it was…then again, she would probably try closer to the end of the day so she wouldn't have as long to keep it away from him…

He turned back to his nakama but they had both turned away from him and he sighed.

They thought he and Nami's fights were a bad thing…and neither was shy about being vocal in their opinions. It seemed they were so angry they weren't even going to talk to him…

The blond sighed again and left them alone…

* * *

Nami led Robin and Chopper inside the Strawhat's apartment. Grinning smugly she shut the door behind them, and her two companions, finally out of the shipwright's hearing, burst out laughing. For Chopper it wasn't so unusual but…Robin was usually restrained and yet here she was, leaning against the wall and clutching her stomach as they laughed.

Their other nakama gave the three wide eyed looks. Nami's smug look didn't fade as she came over to the table.

"Where'd that map of Water 7 go?" She asked sweetly, ignoring the almost hysterical giggles coming from beside the door. Behind her Chopper was lying on the ground, pounding it as he laughed, and Robin had sunk to her knees.

"What…?" Sanji looked between them in confusion. He didn't even know _how_ to ask what was going on. Luffy, ever wanting to join in the fun, jumped down and went to his two nakama. "Oi…Oi Robin." He poked the giggling archeologist. "What's up?"

Finally pulling herself back under control the dark haired woman wiped tears of mirth off her cheeks. "Nami…she…" She took a deep breath and started again. "Nami and Paulie-san…made a deal…" That was as far as she got before she broke back into peels of laughter.

Even Zoro was staring at her now but she just could not stop. Taking pity on her Nami, who had been rustling through her sack to find the map of Water 7 she knew was in there, began to explain.

"Paulie and I made a bet that I couldn't steal something off of him, and keep him away from it the whole day…" The navigator grinned fiendishly but the three men just looked at her.

"And Robin-chwan is…" Sanji stopped to look at her. Smiling widely she had propped herself up against the wall, little giggles breaking out occasionally.

"Well…." He looked back at the copper haired woman and blinked.

Nami was now wearing Paulie-san's orange goggles.

"S-S-She…!!" Chopper gasped for air and sat up. "She stole them _right off his head_ while they were shaking hands!!" The zoan fruit user also leaned back against the wall. "He didn't notice a thing…!!"

Nami bowed, winking at her two nakama by the door, and ignoring the bewildered looks from the others. "Thank you, thank you…" She said mockingly. "But as I intend to _win_ this bet I'm going to be leaving now before he figures out what happened." She stuck her tongue out in a cute way, the rolled up map in her hands.

Robin pulled herself up off the floor. Her breathing had returned to normal but the genuine smile hadn't left her face. "What will you do all day?" It was only two in the afternoon after all…

Nami shrugged. "I can always make it more interesting…" Her smirk reappeared. "I'm not just pissed 'cause he said I'm clumsy…he really doesn't think I can get away…And I might just have to show him how wrong he is."

Robin glided across the floor gracefully and sat at the apartment's table. "Be sure you don't let him catch you…" She murmured. "Although…I think the fact that you've already gotten him will count for something even if you are."

Nami went to the door. "No way Robin…I'm not letting him catch me!" She flashed a peace sign and then was gone.

Chopper also came to the table to sit with the archeologist…Their three companions _still_ looking confused. "Whether she can stay out of his reach or not…" Robin said, smiling down at the reindeer. "I think she's already won." He grinned back up at her.

* * *

Her preparations made the thief went to the dock no.1 gates…her target was there and she was going to get him _good_.

She had taken off the pilfered goggles, it wouldn't be good for Paulie to realize he'd been robbed before she wanted him too…

Nami shook herself, it was time to get serious. She stopped in the dock's main doorway and took a deep breath, unable to help the smirk of excitement that was on her face.

"Oh Paaaaaauuuuuulieeeee~~~!!!"

He wasn't close to the gate, so she had to shout quite loudly and most of the shipyards had stopped to look at her. She only had eyes for the blond foreman who had turned around, a puzzled expression on his face.

"I think you're missing something!" She called sweetly. And then, because she knew it would _kill_ him, she pulled his precious goggles out of her shirt and waved them in the air for all to see.

The blond froze for only a few seconds before… "NAMI!!!"

Taking her cue the thief was off and running…He was at least 50 feet from the gate and she had prepared well.

'_Catch me if you can~!'_

She didn't _have_ to let him know of course…but where was the fun in that? The copper haired woman knew she was good, and besides his comment about clumsiness, which implied she wouldn't be able to rob him in the first place… _'I hope he's feeling all kinds of embarrassment right now…'_ …She wanted to prove her ability to escape.

She had crossed the stone bridge first, checking carefully to make sure the blond was keeping up with her, and then darted into her chosen alley way when he made it past the dock's gate.

The alley was one long tunnel…or so it appeared. Halfway down there was a break off to the right, leading to the ladder she had carefully set up…She knew Paulie was faster than her, but she had also measured the distance quite carefully before invoking his wrath, and was positive she could reach the split before he got into the alley.

She barely made it in time…Either he was really pissed and it was helping him with his speed, or she had miscalculated…it didn't matter. She was in the side alley and up the ladder in seconds, immediately dodging to the left across the roof tops. Eighteen seconds later she knew he had reached the roof… _'Just in time…'_ The navigator smirked and then threw herself off the building's roof…landing perfectly on the shorter building behind it. Dodging to the left a second time, she slid down the shorter, round roof and then used it as a spring board to jump to the next. Immediately she threw herself off the new roof, catching the light post and sliding down it like a fireman's pole. Again she took off to the left.

* * *

Paulie was be able to make the same jumps from roof to roof that she had, swearing the entire time. When the _hell_ had she gotten his goggles?! And hiding them in her _shirt?!!_ The blond nearly had a nose bleed just thinking about it. He hadn't seen her since they had made their little deal two _hours_ ago, so when…?

He slid down the short, round roof, jumping to the next but…which way did she go now?! Thinking quick he continued up to the next building…Nothing there.

'_Damn it!!!'_

He darted to the right to check the street below which was empty…well empty of the person he was looking for anyway…

Back to the left, looking up and down…There!!

Nami had managed to increase the distance between them but she was on the street and had to dodge people. He allowed a tight grin onto his face as he began running across the roof tops to catch up…

Three buildings later he swore again…there was an enormous gap between the roof he was on and the one he was aiming for…She must have known that, but how?!

Ignoring that he snapped a rope out and slid down the side of the building…he'd have to continue after her on the ground…

* * *

The thief was still grinning in excitement…Oh this was _so_ much fun!!!

She knew he had reached the impassible roof top and she knew that he could easily get himself down by the rope he always carried…but there was a two and a half second difference between climbing down a rope and sliding down a pole.

There was a second gap, one of the larger canals, complete with long bridges…But she didn't have to worry about that. Half way across the giant stone bridge she did exactly what she had seen him do the first day they had met, using one arm to bring her body up and over the bridge railing, and allowing herself to fall…Directly into the rented yagara boat she had waiting. Smiling wickedly she cut the rope that had been keeping him there, tossing 50 beri to the kid who had been watching him for her, and allowed herself to be swept down by the current.

Nami looked back…Perfect timing…

* * *

Paulie had reached a second stone bridge…but he couldn't see her. _'Damn it!!!'_ He seemed to be thinking that a lot. Which way would she have gone…?!

Half way across he heard her call his name. She was…She had…!

The petite thief was rolling down the watery street on a yagara drawn boat and the cheeky woman was…_waving goodbye to him?!!_

'_Argh! Damn it!!!'_

To add to the insult the beautiful woman had put his precious goggles onto her own head, allowing them to hold her hair back from her face. She blew him a kiss and then the yagara turned onto a smaller channel on the right.

Swearing, this time out loud, the carpenter could do nothing but run after her…though how he was going to catch up he didn't know. How the hell had she pulled this off…?!

* * *

The copper haired pirate directed her yagara back towards the Galley-La HQ's…she wasn't done with her game yet…Oh no. She had told him she'd make him regret it and she was going too…Four streets away she stopped her yagara at the predetermined place, slipping off and letting another kid on. "Don't forget to tell him where I am." She said cheerfully as she passed him 50 beri as well.

The boy nodded obediently and turned the yagara back the way she had just come. Smiling, (she couldn't seem to stop herself!) Nami sauntered down the first street…She had to give him a little time to catch up after all…And there was the added bonus of being able to catch her breath.

She reached into her shirt and pulled out the small den den mushi she had borrowed, ringing the apartment set aside for her crew.

"Moshi moshi!" It was Luffy.

"Hello…" She just couldn't stop feeling smug! "Can I talk to Robin please?"

"Ah, Nami! Okay…" She heard her captain shouting for Robin, and then Sanji-kun's voice as he yelled at the younger man for shouting at a woman.

"Hello? Nami?" The dark haired archeologist sounded worried. "We heard about Paulie-san running out of the shipyards…Are you okay?"

She had reached the second street…two more before she was back. "I'm fine." She said cheerfully. "I was just thinking about you guys and I was wondering if you would do something for me…?"

Robin's voice was puzzled but she agreed immediately.

"In about…Oh…three or four moments can all of you guys be standing by the Galley-La gate?" She knew the other woman could hear the humor in her voice. "Please?"

"Sure Nami-chan…I'll make sure we're all there…But what…?"

"Don't worry, you'll see soon! I'll call you later okay?" Hanging up before her nakama could protest Nami looked back at the end of the street…waiting for her target…

* * *

Paulie had stopped swearing out loud…partially because people were giving him dirty looks, and partially because he realized he was wasting his breath. When he caught that woman she was going to be _so_ dead!!!

"Paulie-san!!"

Still running the shipwright saw the young boy on…Wasn't that Nami's yagara?!

"Paulie-san!!" The kid shouted again. "A lady told me that you would be looking for her and asked if I'd show you where she was!"

The blond nearly started swearing again…She was fucking _playing_ with him!!!

The boy had pulled up to the canal's edge and the shipwright hopped on board…Yes, it was probably playing right into her hands but he had to catch his breath or he ran the risk of falling so far behind she'd leave him in the dust.

He didn't say anything as the boy brought him to the street she wanted him on…It was actually pretty close to Galley-La…

"She said she'd be waiting just down there…" The boy pointed and the carpenter nodded, feeling his jaw clench in anger again…"Thanks kid." He said shortly before he jumped off and was running after her again.

He rounded the first corner…She actually _was_ waiting for him!! The street was pretty long but there was no mistaking Nami's bright orange hair. Angrily he sprinted faster…she waved and disappeared out of sight again.

By the time he had reached the end of that street she was at the end of the third one. Again she waved and began running and the blond nearly shouted with frustration.

'_Damn it all to hell!!!'_

He didn't even bother stopping as he rounded the third corner…She wasn't quite at the fourth yet…He smiled angrily again…He was definitely gaining on her.

* * *

On the street of Galley-La HQ's the beautiful pirate grinned exuberantly when she saw her nakama standing outside the gates. Luffy saw her first as she sprinted towards them…Though she knew it would lose her a bit of air she called to them in advance.

"Hi guys! Stay right where you are, I've brought you something!!"

Then the petite woman was flying past them with a hasty, "Bye guys!" And up the long street towards her next trap.

* * *

Robin, in fact all of the Strawhats, stared after their fleeing nakama. "What…?" She didn't finish her sentence as Paulie's voice made her turn back the way the thief had come from.

"NAMI!!!" The blond shouted. "Get your ass back here!!!"

Suddenly realizing what was happening Robin broke into peels of laughter again…Oh Nami was a terrible woman!!!

Chopper had also got it, as had Sanji, and whether Luffy began laughing because he understood or because he just liked to laugh, four of the five pirates standing in the gate were laughing uproariously as the shipwright reached them.

Instantly the blonde's face turned bright red, and he shouted a few swear words as he passed…Nami's little trick had worked…Paulie had lost both time and air by getting embarrassed as he had past them, _and_ she had done it to make her crew laugh.

Robin continued to laugh, even after they were both out of sight, gasping for air until finally Zoro, muttering about insanity catching, took her by the arm to lead her back to the apartment.

Oh….Nami was one terrible woman!!

* * *

**AN: **So there's the start of that. I'll be posting the second chapter as soon as I get it edited, which'll be in just a few minutes. :P I hope you like, and Pikinanou, thank you again for the _Awesome_ idea. :) I had so much fun writing this.


	2. Chapter 2

**AN:** So here's the second chapter. If you use your imagination I'm sure it could be extended but I really did try hard to keep it short. xD Thanks again to Pikinanou for this idea. :)

I don't own One Piece.

* * *

To Nami's extreme enjoyment, and Paulie's frustration, their chase lasted for one hour and twenty four minutes…Ending thirty six minutes before the deadline.

* * *

At 5:12 p.m. Nami allowed herself to drop from the roof top she had been sprinting across…Her lungs were starting to burn like crazy but she still had time…And if Paulie thought he could beat her he was going to be _very_ disappointed.

The shallow canal was like a water slide, and though she wasn't crazy about the idea of getting all wet, if he wanted to catch her he was going to have to do it too.

This was the part she hadn't been looking forward too…She hadn't been able to practice and she was only going to get one shot at it…Even as she shot down the slide the thief shifted her weight to the right…A little more…

Nami grunted in pain as she caught the nearly insignificant ledge she had been aiming for…It had damn near jerked her arm out of it's socket!! But she didn't have time for that right now. Gasping the petite woman hauled herself back out of the water and began sprinting again…She didn't have to look behind her to know that her pursuer _had_ missed that small ledge and she grinned. Though…knowing him…

Yep, a rope had been thrown back up and latched on to something so the blond could continue the chase…making her grin widen. She might be soaking wet, out of breath, and nearing exhaustion, but when was the last time she had had this much fun?

Unfortunately for Nami the water that was now dripping down her legs put her game to an end. Unable to stop herself as her sandals slipped she tucked her arms against her body and rolled…but she had _definitely _done something to her ankle.

Swearing for the first time since she had begun the chase, the pirate forced herself to get back up and run…She had done worst things to herself and been fine…

She had lost eight precious seconds…Seconds that she had been counting on having after tricking him down the water slide, and now she wasn't going to be able to get them back…In addition to her ankle she had no more time gaining tricks to play on the carpenter. She crossed a stone bridge that arced across several buildings, giving the pedestrians on it a beautiful air view of the city. Only a few more feet and she'd make it…

Hearing the violent swearing behind her she realized she wasn't going to have time to reach the next part of her escape route…If she didn't act now he'd catch her.

Biting down on her lip the copper haired woman threw herself off the side, gasping in pain as she hit her ankle again, and barely catching the lamp post that had caught her attention…She knew there was the high probability that Paulie would catch her…but she'd make him _work_ for it.

She slid down the pole to the next street, landing on her bad foot and nearly swearing again…Instead she kept it inside as she began running again…Unfortunately she didn't know where she was, and had no time to study her map…

She glanced backwards but the blond hadn't dropped to the street yet…

* * *

Okay…so he was angry that she had robbed him, (even though she had warned him in advanced) and he was angry that he had been forced to chase her literally halfway across the city, but now he was beyond angry…

Slowly but surely the shipwright had become impressed with the petite pirate's elaborate plan…She was always one step ahead, and if he started falling behind she would wait for him to catch up…He knew she must have been enjoying herself…

It had been on the last bridge, he had made it out of the water just in time to see her roll back to her feet, having slipped in the water that was dripping off her body. (Which was _not_ something he wanted…well, _should_ to be thinking about… ) And though she was running again immediately he could see the limp.

It was one thing to tease him mercilessly…It was something else to get herself hurt.

Snarling the blond had chased her across the bridge, catching her fleeting glance, and then watching in horror as she had jumped. He had reached the same spot only a few seconds later to see her biting her lip in pain as she landed on the street below.

Things had gone on for _more_ than long enough…!

Cursing again he dropped his soaking wet cigar on the pavement.

She obviously had to ditch her plan…which gave him the advantage. Instead of descending as she had the carpenter sprinted the rest of the way down the stone bridge, watching the pirate as she ran one level below him. He saw her look back for him and smiled grimly.

Oh when he caught her…

Her unfamiliarity with the area, coupled with her hurt leg meant he pulled ahead of her…A few steps, then feet at a time…There was another lap post coming up and he steeled himself before jumping at it.

Allowing himself to slide, as he had seen her doing, and then hitting the street before her he didn't hesitate in charging forward. Nami's eyes widened as she saw him and she tried to skid to a halt, hampered by her sandals on the cobblestone, and slipped again. He was to her before she could get up again.

* * *

"You…!!" The blond was gasping…She had tried to get up after her second fall but he had reached her by then and she knew the chase was over…

Since she couldn't escape anymore Nami allowed herself to sink back to the cobblestones that had just tripped her up, shaking with exhaustion…That had been some chase…

Paulie was panting heavily, slumped on the street, with one hand on her arm to stop her from trying to get away…Like there was any hope of that _now…_

No, instead the thief allowed herself to fall against the carpenter's shoulder, and began laughing weakly. "That…." She gasped again for breath. "That was so much fun…"

Paulie glared at her, but he was too exhausted to begin yelling just yet. Smiling cheerfully Nami pulled the stolen goggles off of her head and handed them to him…Then giggled when he immediately put them back on, with a grumpy look on his face.

The thief leaned her head on her companion's shoulder, ignoring his small sputtering of embarrassment, as she also panted for air. Knowing it wasn't a wise idea, but unable to stop herself, she looked up at him through her coppery lashes and said coyly, "Still think I'm clumsy, Paulie?"

He began swearing again and she laughed breathlessly. Oh, he was just too much fun! But his anger, when he let it out, was not directed at the trouble she had just caused him.

"Yes you're damn clumsy!!" He snapped. "I saw you trip, and now you've done something to your ankle…" In spite of his furious words the carpenter's hands were gentle as he touched the injury, which had begun to swell. "And what the _hell_ was with jumping off the bridge!! You could have been killed!"

Nami was finally able to take in a deep, relaxing breath. "It's okay…" She murmured but the blond began swearing _again_ and cut her off.

"It is _not_ fucking okay!! You're clumsy and reckless and…"

But she had also begun glaring. "I am not! If I was clumsy than how was I able to steal those, huh?" She rolled slightly so she was kneeling before him and pointed up at the goggles that had caused him so much trouble today. "You even _knew_ it was coming and I still got them! I am _not_ clumsy!!"

Paulie glared back at her, willing all his anger into it, with no apparent effect. "Damn it Nami!! You wouldn't have hurt yourself if you weren't always doing these reckless things…!"

Hands on her hips the copper haired woman leaned towards him, ignoring the shivers she got from the wind rushing over her cold, wet body.

"Recklessness is what Luffy does…If I had been reckless you would have caught me ages ago!!" Then she smirked. "I'll bet you don't even know when I stole them from you, huh?"

Not wanting to admit the point the blond glowered and grabbed her arm again. "You are…" But what she was he didn't end up saying. As he had begun chastising her again the petite woman had attempted to get up. Off balanced by his hand on her arm, and the slippery cobblestone under her feet she fell forward again, right onto the confused shipwright.

…Or more specifically onto his lips…

There's barely any chance at all that something like it could _really_ happen…but barely any chance and no chance at all are two different things, so the poor man found himself on his back on the cold street, the pirate on top of him, her lips glued to his.

What is one suppose to do in a situation like that?

For a few second neither of them moved. But then the thief gave a tiny squeak of surprise and jumped off of him, her face a rosy red.

The blond rolled onto his feet, giving her a stunned look, while she avoided his gaze.

Hands shaking she tried again to get up, this time slipping back to fall on her butt, and she winced. "Er…" Since she couldn't get up…and even if she could she probably wouldn't have been able to walk…he did the only thing he could, reaching one hand down to her.

She took it, still carefully not looking into his eyes, and neither of them spoke for several moments. But finally, freezing cold and embarrassed beyond belief, Nami spoke. "Sorry…I, um…I tripped." Well obviously he knew that but she had to say _something_!

"Uh…yeah…It's no problem…"

There was another moment of awkward silence before the shipwright nodded at her. "I…I'll help you, so let's go back…"  
Unable to do anything but agree she nodded, allowing him to pick her up, and take her back to the headquarters.

They didn't speak again as they made their way to dock no.1. It was 5:52 when they got there…Though the results of their bet was the furthest thing from their minds.

The Strawhat pirates, as well as the two other foremen, were in the shipyards when they returned. Sanji became fired up when he saw her ankle but she told them it was her fault, and that she had slipped.

Lulu looked back and forth between them. (He had set her on a table so their doctor could wrap her ankle) "I see you got your goggles back Paulie…" The older man said mildly, met by the shipwright's usual round of insults…Which seemed very forced.

* * *

Nami had been studying the ground intently ever since he had set her on the table…She was _really_ distracted by what had just happened but…There was something else she had to do before she could focus on anything else.

"Sanji-kun?" She motioned for the cook to move closer. "Can you do me a favor?" Happy to be of assistance he twirled towards her, shouting, "Of course Nami-san! Anything you want me to do I'd do for you!!"

The lovely thief motioned him closer again so she could whisper in his ear…The love struck smile on his face was replaced by a look of confusion but she fluttered her eyelashes and he agreed.

At 5:59 Chopper had finished wrapping her injury and was looking at her sympathetically. "Does it hurt Nami?" She gave him a distracted smile but her eyes drifted back to the carpenter who had just confused her so much…She tried to focus on the thought of him getting what he deserved, without much success.

Robin had sat next to her, watching the two try to watch each other without the other noticing. There was definitely something happening…

At the first chime of six Sanji leaned towards the carpenter. "Oi…can I borrow your lighter for a moment?" When the other blond looked at him the cook motioned to his unlit cigarette, and Paulie began searching his coat pockets.

At the fifth chime of six his face reflected his confusion…He couldn't find the damn thing anywhere!

And on the final chime of the hour Nami allowed a victorious little grin onto her face. "Oh Paulie…" She had been waiting for this for _hours_…

* * *

Not wanting to look at her again but knowing it would be suspicious if he didn't the blond managed to throw a glare over at her table, hoping the others didn't notice his anger wasn't genuine…then stopped, blinking in shock.

The copper haired woman was holding his lighter in between her two fingers. "Looking for this?" He stared at her, unable to understand what had just happened. "I never said your goggles were the item I was going to steal…" She fluttered her eyelashes, enjoying the absolute confusion on his face. "That's 500 beri I believe you owe me."

The shipwright's mouth dropped open and all he could do was stammer at her in a stunned way. Even the laughter of those around him couldn't make him look away from her.

"What…? How…? _When_…?"

She smiled then, a slow smile that made him shiver, and looked at him through her lashes in that extremely sexy way he liked… _'Argh! No, I don't like it…!'_

"I think you know when." She purred…He couldn't help it, he began choking again, blushing a bright red, while the others glanced back and forth between them. The navigator's smile changed back to normal, to his great relief, and she looked at her companions.

"Can I have a minute guys?" Her nakama agreed, Sanji very reluctantly, and she turned to the two other carpenters. "Please?" She smiled at them flirtatiously and both men blushed slightly. "Uh…Sure thing Nami-san…" Lulu coughed in embarrassment and looked away. Grabbing the towering man with him they also left the two at the table, in the shadow of an incomplete ship.

* * *

She studied him for a moment before patting a spot on the table beside her. "Come sit down so I don't have to shout at you all the way over there…"

Reluctantly he did so, feeling the near perpetual blush that plagued him when Nami was around creeping up his neck.

"You know Paulie…" She pursed her lips and he looked down at the ground. Man, this was _not_ good…

"You might not have believed me earlier when I said I was a thief but I think you've changed your mind by now, right?" She looked at him but he refused to take the bait. "What's your point?" He asked her in a grumpy voice.

He heard her little giggle before she continued. "A professional like me knows when to take advantage of a situation…"

Cautiously he looked at her. The copper haired woman was looking straight ahead, her own cheeks flushing, though he didn't know why. "You asked me how I got this…" She held up his lighter again but when he moved to take it she pulled it back out of his reach. "Just a second, I'm explaining something…" She sounded exasperated.

"You asked me how I got this…" She repeated. "Well…It might have been on accident but I know when to take advantage of a situation so…"

He grunted in annoyance. "Just say what the hell you mean!"

He heard her sigh. "Impatient…" She murmured. "Alright…this is the point."

Unprepared for her movement the shipwright suddenly found his lap full of the beautiful woman, who was smirking at him sexily. Before he could speak, before he could even _move_ she leaned in so their noses were touching.

"I didn't create the situation…but I liked where it was going." Again she was practically purring at him and he gulped. Very slowly and deliberately he felt Nami's hand slid up against his chest…He wasn't sure why he didn't throw her off…maybe he was paralyzed by shock.

Feeling the pirate's warm breath against his mouth he felt his hands shaking. "Are you paying attention Paulie?" She murmured and he almost groaned.

He was sure she had _noticed_ that he was paying attention!!

Then there was a sudden pressure against the top right pocket in his jacket and she pulled back, smirking smugly. "And now you have your lighter back."

He blinked…She had _not _done all that just to…just to…The shipwright found himself gulping again but this time he was a little angry.

Nami was still giving him a smug look. "Well?" She asked in a teasing voice. "Nothing to say…?" She fluttered her eyelashes at him, her hands now resting on his forearms.

"You…!" He wasn't sure _what_ to say. "That's it…!" He muttered.

Before she could react he had grabbed her around the waist with one hand, the other slipping into her hair so he could pull her down. "That is it!!" He said again before kissing her firmly.

She responded easily and they kissed for a few moments before he let her go, feeling dazed.

"Well, _there's_ the reaction I was looking for…"

He hated how smug she sounded but there wasn't much he could do about it at the moment and she knew it. She leaned into him again, ignoring the burning blush on his face. "Paulie…"

He gulped…Damn it! She shouldn't sound so sexy!!

"You still owe me 500 beri."

"Argh!!"

Laughing cheekily at his frustration she pulled herself off of his lap, using his arm to balance herself. "I might consider lowering your debt…But I'll warn you…It'll cost you much more in the long run." She winked at him while he tried to regain some semblance of dignity.

"Why would I do that then?!" Feeling grumpy at her, well…mostly at her teasing…the shipwright stood so he could look down at the pirate. Nami smiled up at him again and then lifted her arms in a "You have to carry me because I still can't walk" motion. Annoyed he picked her up again, gentle despite his frustration.

"Well instead of paying me 500 beri…you could give me triple that in kisses." She laughed as he choked again. "Or we could go double to nothing tomorrow…"

He carried her towards the building, shaking his head but refusing to answer. "Oh, I thought you _liked_ gambling?" She asked innocently.

"I _will_ drop you…" He threatened, though she knew he wouldn't really. They entered the building and he took her to the Strawhat's apartment, where her nakama had returned to.

Before he could put her back down and escape she called out to them. "Hey guys! Don't you think Paulie and I should run double to nothing tomorrow?" She bat her lashes and Sanji agreed immediately. "Whatever you want Nami-san!!"

Luffy shrugged with a grin. "Do it Paulie! You might be able to win!" Then he laughed carelessly. Robin had also smiled. "I agree, you have a better chance at winning tomorrow than you did today…"

Chopper pumped his fist into the air. "Nami'll still beat you!!" He cheered. Zoro didn't comment and the shipwright shook his head. It was probably a _good_ thing that they didn't understand what she had meant by that.

He set her at the Strawhat's table and tried to stand again but she caught his jacket. "Hey! You owe me!" She grinned up at him. "So which is it gonna be Paulie?"

Clenching his teeth as his face reddened again he glared at her...Nami was _really_ asking for it…The shipwright forced his embarrassment away and leaned down again until he was next to her ear.

"I'll pay you triple but Nami…I'm going to make you regret this."

He had the satisfaction of hearing her startled gasp and seeing her wide eyes before he made it to the door. Grinning now he waved goodbye to them all and left the apartment whistling.

* * *

"What did he say to you Nami-san?" The navigator looked over at the cook who was glaring at the closed door. "Do you need me to kick his ass?"

She grinned.

"No, no, Sanji-kun. It's okay. Paulie's just being a sore loser."

Feeling immensely pleased with herself the copper haired woman gave them all a bright smile as she stood up.

"Eh? Nami-san…You're foot…?"

She shrugged easily at the blond's confusion. "I never said I couldn't walk Sanji-kun…"

She heard Robin's low chuckle and winked at the dark haired woman before making an excuse to go into their shared room. She had plans to make, and a shipwright to catch. Still smiling privately the pirate sat down to calculate an "interest rate" for him…She couldn't wait to see his face tomorrow…

* * *

**AN: **See what I mean? It could keep going on so I had to cut it off somewhere, lol. Again, I hope you guys enjoyed this one, it was pretty fun to write. And thanks to Pikinanou for the plot. (Can you tell I liked the idea? No? I really liked the idea. :P) Please review and let me know what you think!


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